The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) is an organization composed of a number of manufacturers of PC cards and related peripheral equipment. This organization has established standards or specifications for memory cards used with computers and especially for use with laptop, notebook or portable computers. PC cards which meet this PCMCIA standard are credit card-sized wafers. The dimensions of a PCMCIA standard card assembly are 85 mm. in length and 55 mm. wide. These cards employ a high density electrical connector to connect the PC card to the personal computer or other computing equipment with which the PCMCIA card is to be used. This high density electrical connector includes a number of sockets which mate with pins on the computer. This high density connector meets the requirements of the PC Card Standard, PCMCIA dated February 1995 which defines the PC Card's physical outline and the connector system qualification test parameters, including reliability, durability and environmental test parameters.
PCMCIA cards can be used with laptop or notebook personal computers to provide an interface to a peripheral device such as an external floppy disk drive. PCMCIA cards can also be used as memory cards, including Flash, EPROM, DRAM or as other memory cards. When used in these applications the PCMCIA cards are inserted into a card slot and into engagement with a standard high density connector mounted on a printed circuit board in the computer.
PCMCIA cards are not limited to use as memory cards or external floppy disk drives that have no external connection other than their connection to the computer. These cards can also be used as part of an external modem which is connected to an external telephone line or as part of a local area network interface assembly.
Standard PCMCIA cards or card assemblies do employ a standard electrical receptacle connector having two rows of contact terminals solder to a printed circuit board. Standard PCMCIA receptacle connectors have sixty eight terminals. PCMCIA cards typically the have a length and width substantially the same as a credit card, and the height of these cards, though greater than the thickness of a credit card, is relatively small. The receptacle connectors used on these cards are also relatively small. These small connectors each having a relatively large number of contact terminals, therefore, must include housings having relatively thin walls. One commercially available prior art connector employs terminals that are retained in the connector housing by a contact retention section having barbs or a Christmas tree configuration on each side of a flat central section of the contact terminal. These barbs or Christmas trees can dig into the walls of the housing and can lead to deformation or cracking of the housing. An improved retention, support and positioning section that would eliminate these problems and would result in simple, easily manufactured housing and terminal, therefore, is desirable.
There are some electrical connectors that do employ a contact retention member located on the upper edge of U-shaped sidewalls. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,378 discloses a stamped and formed contact that includes cantilever spring levers that engage the interior walls of a housing to position a contact. Those spring levers abut a rearwardly facing shoulder to prevent further insertion of the contact, but a separate tang is employed to prevent extraction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,354 discloses a solder cup connector having a U-shaped section with barbs located at the upper end of the U-shaped section that plough through the plastic during insertion and the plastic flows around the barbs to prevent retraction of the contact. However, neither of these prior art patents are directed to a contact terminal that can be used with a smooth cavity to retain the contact and to position mating and external connector contact sections in proper alignment with a small electrical connector such as a PCMCIA receptacle connector.